Shopping List Staples

reading time: ca. 3 min

IF YOU KEEP GOOD FOOD IN YOUR FRIDGE, YOU WILL EAT GOOD FOOD.

As mentioned in my Review on Raw Food my diet is 100% vegan and 100% plant-based and gluten-free. And also high in carbs and low in fat. Wow, what a fancy labelling: high-carb, low-fat, plant-based, vegan. Sounds so complicated,
although it's really not. I live on grains, fruits, vegetables and
plant-based protein - watching my fat intake but in no way counting
calories. Get in those carbs, girl!

So what do i eat exactly?

Below you will find the complete Shopping List for my regular grocery shopping.Since this is quite a long and detailed list, i went ahead and highlighted the food that i ALWAYS keep in the house. Maybe this will give you some new ideas or inspiration for your own food shopping!

Rule #1 Never, and I mean never, go to the supermarket hungry! All of a sudden EVERYTHING will look good to you… You will end up packing your cart to the brim with foods you wouldn't normally reach for, and may even forget what you actually came in for ;) Or bring a list with you and stick to that list!

If you are thinking right now, "oh crap, i can't afford this!", here are a few things you can do to save some cash:

1) Base your meals around potatoes, oats, beans, rice and bananas. These foods are normally very inexpensive and easy to find. And they keep you full and satisfied! Especially beans.

2) Buy in bulk; buy discounted produce; compare prices in stores and between stores! If you eat huge amounts of bananas, buy boxes of them and save a few dollars that way. You can also get discounted prices on overly ripe fruits and veggies. Simply freeze that produce and add to smoothies, soups and stir-frys later on! And often times different places have different prices, so take the time to compare and buy what you think is best.

3) Skip the packaged, pricey nut milk. If you're really craving some milky stuff, go ahead and make it yourself (DIY Almond milk). It is actually cheaper that way - and you know exactly what you get.

Also, mix your own make-ahead oatmeal packs, so that all you have to do in the morning is add liquid and cook. Those instant oatmeal packets are convenient, but they're full of added sugar. So make yours convenient too! By making your own "instant oatmeal", you get to decide exactly what goes in. Plus, it's cheaper. For example: 1/2 cup of oats, a little bit of sweetener (or mash 1 fresh banana and add to it as you cook it!), any dried fruits, nuts, seeds, or spices you want. I love cinnamon and cacao powder.

4) Dried tomatoes are usually pretty pricey as well, so dry them yourself! Like so.

5) Omit the nuts. Sub them for sunflower seeds (at least where i live they are way cheaper than nuts and packed with essential fatty acids, vitamins, protein and minerals) - by the way, it's not as common, but you can actually make sunflower seed milk as well! In recipes, you can usually sub nuts for buckwheat, shredded coconut, carrots, celery, mushrooms, chia seeds, flaxseed or any root vegetable!

6) Grow your own greens! If you don't have a garden (i don't, for example -.-), you can still grow your own sprouts and herbs in a little seed tray on your windowsill!

7) Instead of going all exotic, stick to you good ol' local foods and look up what's in season right now. Where i live papaya, persimmons, pineapples and melons are especially pricey, so i buy them only occasionally,
while my daily fruit intake consists of bananas (which are the cheapest
fruit i know, even though they're tropical), apples, pears,
strawberries, frozen berries, dried dates,...

8) Don't buy juices. Eat the whole fruit instead. Much more satisfying and contains the entire complex of vitamins and nutrients.
If you insist on juice, make it yourself! Don't have a juicer? No
problem, 'cause you're just gonna blend these babies up! That way you
get all the fiber, plenty of fresh vitamin and - thanks to the fiber -
are full for a long time.

9)
Make meals in advance. Preparation is key, and will not only save you
money but also time. Instead of making one meal at a time, prepare your
meals in BULK for several days, even up to a week. That way you won't
spend as much time cooking and preparing, and it will also help to keep
you on track instead of going for fast food when you come home hungry!

10) Don't worry too much about organic. As much as i love and promote organic food (apart from the nutrients even the taste is so much more vibrant!), i don't buy everything organic, though i try to get at least my everyday staples (like bananas, carrots, apples, baby spinach...) organic. Here's a helpful list to see which products you should buy organic and which are lowest in pesticide: